Browning Pass has been hailed by many as “the best temperate diving in the known universe!” The cold water currents support the highest concentration of marine life of any of British Columbia’s scuba areas. It’s one of the only places to see the pink soft corals that can be found at almost every one of our regular dive sites.

The water temperature ranges from 6-12 degrees celsius and visibility changes throughout the year. As with most BC diving, visibility is best in the spring, fall and winter (15-30 metres/50′-100′). During the summer months, particulate in the water reduces visibility slightly (5-20 metres/20′-70′). Strong currents in the area mean that our dives are planned based on slack times rather than the clock. We aim to do three to four dives in a day but there is no guarantee that we can dive a specific site at a specific time. We can guarantee that over your stay here you will be able to dive a variety of amazing sites.

A Few of our Favourite Dive Sites

Browning Wall

A photographer’s paradise. The sheer dropoff is a living piece of art blanketed with pink soft corals, yellow sponges and giant plumose anemones. Rockfish, greenlings and sculpins are abundant along the wall. A keen diver will have no trouble spotting nudibranchs, grunt sculpins, warbonnets and of course the wolf eels and giant pacific octopus.

Overhang

This is our closest dive site and one of our favourites. The rock shelf provides a typical home to crack-dwelling creatures like octopus and crustaceans. The sandy bay and kelp forest is a great place to find moon snails, giant dendronotids and sea pens.

Seven Tree

A spectacular site in Browning Pass. The colourful dropoff is dotted with basket stars and dozens of different species of nudibranch. A diver can easily spend an hour investigating a very small area, or circumnavigate the whole island experiencing the wall, the kelp forest and the sandy sea pen field.

Croker Rock/The Wreck of the Themis

The rocks poking out of the water here are often crowded with sunbathing seals and surrounded by a group of playful sea lions. Below the surface lies the disheveled skeleton of the SS Themis. The wreck provides a few strange underwater images including a sunken bathtub and the ship’s boilers. It’s also home to the oldest wolf eel that we see regularly, a massive male named Gumby who’s always happy to accept a sea urchin from a friendly diver.

Hunt Rock

Located northeast of Browning Pass, in Queen Charlotte Strait, this site provides a unique and beautiful dive experience. Three large pinnacles connected by underwater gardens shelter huge schools of rockfish, lingcod, cabezon, and octopus and large wolf eels. The wide open setting is perfect for sighting marine mammals and birds.

Depending on conditions we may also visit sites at Deserter Island, Nakwakto Rapids, Seymour Inlet and Bates Pass.